Guy Harrison is a journalist and author of an earlier book "50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God and Race and Reality . . . ." In the current book he looks with a skeptical eye at fifty currently popular beliefs about all sorts of strange but often strongly held beliefs about everything from ghosts, haunted houses, Area 51, reincarnation, creationism, astrology, vaccination is bad, etc. In other words, Harrison reviews and rebuts many of our current beliefs in various kinds of nonsense.

Beliefs come in three flavours: false, true, and untested. The interesting thing about beliefs is that one cannot hold a false belief. If you believe, e.g., that the New England Patriots won the last Super Bowl a check with the NFL score board will give you the correct final score. Once you see that score it would be absurd to continue to hold the belief that the Pats won! Now, obviously, it is not always that easy to verify a belief and some beliefs are difficult to verify as true or false. But everyone who is rational should it seems understand that belief without evidence is a very dangerous stance to take in matters of epistemology.

Phil Plait writes a short foreword to the book and in it points out that we are all born as "scientists" – that is with curious minds and an appetite for investigating the world, a hunger for knowledge. "…[T]he most important thing, the one aspect of science that sets it apart form all other methods of knowing, is that science isn't loyal. You can rely on an idea for years, decades, but if something comes along that proves the idea wrong, boom! It gets chucked out like moldy cheese." (13) Or, at least it gets modified and corrected, as Einstein's physics modifies Newton's physics.

Harrison's book is easy to read. In the fifty chapters he reviews a belief (say a belief in psychic powers), looks carefully at any claims made, offers evidence for and against the belief, and asks readers to consider the rationality of the belief. The caveat "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" guides the discussion throughout. One of the many positive aspects of the book is that it is never condescending or preachy, but in clear prose offers a thoughtful explanation for the dismissal of these popular beliefs. In addition, each chapter offers an extensive reading list (Go Deeper...) for further investigation of the claims.

Harrison is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation. For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction.

Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, Harrison invites readers to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.

He also presents current information about beliefs held by citizens (from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life). In a chapter on religious beliefs he cites some of the distressing findings:

·53% of Protestants cannot identify Martin Luther as the inspiration for the Protestant Reformation;

·45% of Catholics in the USA do not know that their church teaches that the communion wafer actually becomes the blood and body of Christ;

·Fewer than half of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist;

·Atheists and agnostics scored the highest on a general religion knowledge test, outperforming believers.

How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? Harrison shows you how in this entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims.

A veteran journalist, Harrison has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored "the most haunted house in America," checked out the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a "contrite Roswell alien."

Get the book. Keep it on the shelf as a reference work. Its easy to read short chapters on most every silly belief of the day will prove useful today and tomorrow.

Welcome to Metapsychology.
We feature over 8100 in-depth reviews of a wide range of books and DVDs written by our reviewers from many backgrounds and
perspectives.
We update our front page weekly and add more than twenty new reviews each month. Our editor is Christian Perring, PhD. To contact him, use one of the forms available here.

Metapsychology Online reviewers normally receive gratis review copies of the items they review. Metapsychology Online receives a commission from Amazon.com for purchases through this site, which helps us send
review copies to reviewers. Please support us by making your Amazon.com purchases through our Amazon links. We thank
you for your support!